2018 MCAS Results

Letter to CoaH Families from CEO, Kevin Taylor

September 27, 2018

I am writing with an important update concerning our MCAS and Accountability measures which were released by the MA Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) on Thursday, September 27 and extensively reported on in the local news.

This letter details our results, how they compare to our highest performing peers and the steps we are taking to improve over the next year. At the end of this letter are the dates and times when you can meet with me to talk about our results and any other topics you would like to discuss.

OVERVIEW OF RESULTS & NEW ACCOUNTABILITY MEASURES

The Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS) is a test your child takes by 10th grade and measures performance on Math, English Language Arts (ELA) and Science. The test is a combination of multiple choice and open-response questions. Students earn a rating of advanced, proficient, needs improvement or failing on the test. The percentage of students achieving advanced and proficient status is the measure that is given greatest attention in reporting.

Likewise, DESE has recently updated the Accountability measures to enable parents to more easily compare schools and school districts on common indicators: achievement, growth, and high school completion among others. Schools and districts are no longer measured on a 1-5 scale. The new accountability system generates a “criterion referenced target percentage” (that compares a school against themselves over time) and an “accountability percentile” (that compares a school against other schools that serve similar grades based on a single year of data). These numbers are then used to put the school into one of five categories: schools of recognition, meeting targets, partially meeting targets, focused/targeted support, or broad/comprehensive support. Schools with accountability percentiles 1-10 are automatically placed into the focused/targeted support category.

MCAS and Accountability results are released each fall and measure student performance for the previous school year. Said differently, the data we are reviewing at this time is for the 2017-18 school year. The chart below lists our performance by school. Please note: if your child took the MCAS last year, his or her results will be mailed home in early October.

School

2017-18 MCAS Results*

ELA

Math

Science

Circuit Street

79%

65%

59%

Dudley Square

92%

70%

42%

New Bedford

81%

44%

47%

*Percent Proficient and Advanced in Grade 10

School

2018 Accountability Category

Accountability Percentile

Circuit Street

Not Requiring Assistance/Intervention (Partially Meeting Targets)

11

Dudley Square

Not Requiring Assistance/Intervention (Partially Meeting Targets)

32

New Bedford

Requiring Focused/Targeted Support (Lowest 10% of schools)

4

A Deeper Look

When I joined City on a Hill as Chief Executive Officer in July 2018, I pledged to work with our students, staff, families and communities to transform City on a Hill from “good to great.” While it is true that our schools have historically been considered good, to move us to great, we must confront the facts of our current reality while maintaining unwavering faith that that we can and will accomplish our goals. To that end, the facts are our collective results are not great and are not delivering on the high expectations and promises we’ve made to our students, staff, families and communities. That doesn’t mean there aren’t bright spots and success stories, but overall there is much work to do.

PEER COMPARISONS

For example, here is how our results compare to our host districts, the Boston and New Bedford Public Schools, respectively.

District

2017-18 MCAS Results*

ELA

Math

Science

Boston Public Schools

81%

65%

54%

New Bedford Public Schools

60%

45%

28%

*Percent Proficient and Advanced in Grade 10

Likewise, our results when compared to the average of all schools in Massachusetts are concerning.

2017-18 MCAS Results*

ELA

Math

Science

Massachusetts Average

91%

78%

75%

* Percent Proficient and Advanced in Grade 10

Further, when we look at our highest performing charter school peers, our results are not strong in comparison.

School

2017-18 MCAS Results*

ELA

Math

Science

Brooke Charter Public Schools

100%

100%

75%

Excel Charter Public Schools

95%

84%

91%

Match Charter Public Schools

99%

97%

94%

Codman Academy Charter Public Schools

86%

76%

34%

Boston Collegiate Charter Public Schools

95%

92%

94%

Boston Preparatory Charter Public Schools

98%

88%

87%

Academy of the Pacific Rim Charter Public Schools

100%

77%

69%

Roxbury Preparatory Charter Public Schools

88%

73%

72%

Global Learning Charter Public School (New Bedford)

97%

84%

78%

*Percent Proficient and Advanced in Grade 10

Lastly, when we look at some of the the traditionally highest performing school districts in the state, we can see what is possible for students in Massachusetts and how far we need to move in order to be truly great.

District

2017-18 MCAS Results*

ELA

Math

Science

Concord-Carlisle Public Schools

100%

92%

95%

Dover-Sherborn Public Schools

100%

99%

96%

Harvard Public Schools

100%

91%

98%

Lexington Public Schools

98%

97%

94%

Wellesley Public Schools

98%

96%

94%

Weston Public Schools

100%

96%

91%

*Percent Proficient and Advanced in Grade 10

THE PATH FORWARD

Again, MCAS and Accountability results reported today are for the 2017-18 school year. We have taken and are taking the following steps to ensure that the aforementioned results are much stronger in the 2018-19 school year:

Curriculum Changes – Our math results have been on the decline for the past several years, so we’ve introduced Teach-to-One at Circuit Street and Dudley Square, an innovative technology solution which differentiates the math content for our 9th grade students and provides the necessary remediation for students to be on grade level. When these 9th graders become 10th graders, they will be better prepared for their test. Similarly, Circuit Street and Dudley Square are using Achieve3000 for ELA, which is similarly designed to differentiate content. And in New Bedford, we’ve introduced a pilot curriculum for all 9th grade subjects: Math, ELA, Science and History.

Data Driven Instruction/Academic Progress Monitoring – Our 2017-18 results are “lagging” indicators, meaning they could or should have been predicted based on available data during the year. Those “leading” indicators (i.e., interim assessments, practice MCAS tests, practice ACT tests, etc.) will be analyzed better, faster this year and with an emphasis of course-correcting more quickly. For example, if the interim assessment data in math suggests that students are not mastering a particular standard, those students will be targeted for re-teaching or possibly Saturday School in order to ensure that skill is mastered.

Renewed focus of Learning Network/English Language Learners – Unfortunately, the proportion of students with Individualized Education Plans (IEPs) or are English Language Learners (ELLs) who earned “needs improvement” or “failing” on the MCAS were higher than other populations. We are partnering with Landmark School to improve our practices in New Bedford and will work diligently to implement the lessons learned in our other campuses.

Instructional Content Specialists Hired – This year we’ve hired Instructional Content Specialists in ELA, Math, Science and History, each of whom have deep content knowledge and a passion for instructional excellence. They visit each teacher in their subject area at least once per week, providing content-specific feedback to not just hone a teacher’s practice, but to enable them to become stronger content leaders in their classrooms. This will, in turn, enable lessons to become more engaging for students. The ICS role, coupled with the work we are doing to re-imagine operations in each school, free the school leader to eventually focus 90% of their time on instruction.

Hiring a Chief Academic Officer – We are in the final stages of hiring a dynamic individual to help us re-imagine our academic program and transform our academic practices for the next generation of COAH students. Their marching orders will be to help us build upon our historic successes and transform our practice to reflect the 21st century realities. This person will partner with our Chief Schools Officer, Sonya Pratt, formerly the school leader at CoaH Dudley Square, to set the bar of academic excellence high and help our teachers rise to that challenge. The CAO will also be instrumental in supporting the New Bedford campus which is in the midst of its DESE renewal.

Please note that the items above were generated in concert with your child’s school leader and the Senior Leadership Team of City on a Hill. These steps give me the unshakable hope that we will achieve our goals. And when the 2018-19 results are released in Fall 2019, we will hold ourselves accountable to whether these commitments yielded the results we expected and be prepared to explain why or why not.

To my knowledge, never before has a letter like this one been shared with parents detailing our results as City on a Hill. But as the old adage goes, “If you always do what you’ve always done, you’ll always get what you’ve always got.”

Even so, I recognize that you may have additional questions or concerns about our MCAS and Accountability measures. You are invited to attend the family meeting for your school on the dates below.

Circuit Street: Tuesday, October 2, 2018 | 6:00p-7:30p

Dudley Square: Tuesday, October 9, 2018 | 6:00p-7:30p

New Bedford: Tuesday, October 16, 2018 | 6:00p-7:30p

The meetings will occur in the Forum in a question and answer format; dinner will be served and an age-appropriate movie will be available for families with children.

Thank you for your time and attention to this matter. As a reminder, your child’s individual results will be mailed in early October. I am available by phone at (857) 256-4319 should you wish to discuss further. I hope to see you at your respective family meeting in the coming weeks.